Chapter 13
It had been a lot to take in. The Dragon talked with me only for a short time more, then it asked to meet me at some distance away from the Keep, tomorrow. I agreed.
Bel and his brood?, family?, children?, went on their way.
"This is amazing! I can't believe that you would show up at all, but when you do, you show up here!" Marald exclaimed.
"Why is that amazing?" I asked, curiously.
"Well, everyone had assumed you were dead. I have to tell you that your mother and father died during the war. Your sister, Mirwana lives, and holds your family home and lands. Peace has returned to the world, but it is a brittle thing," Marald finished a little bitterly.
There was obviously a huge amount of information and history I needed to learn. While I felt a pang of loss at his mention of my mother and father's death, it didn't really hurt me much, as I had grown up without them anyway. Hell, for most of my life, the memories of them had been stolen by Markus!
"You seem bitter about that," I said cautiously.
"I'm sorry. It's just that many of our family lost so much during the war. Your father ordered Bel to accompany my father, when our home was destroyed in the purge. Bel, and his mate, came. They have been guardians of our land, ever since," he said, still a little sad.
"I am not too familiar with this war, or purge, or whatever you're talking about. Could you tell me a little about it?" I asked him.
He looked at me, and nodded. We started walking along the wall, back down the stairs, and into the Keep. We went back to the den in which we'd had a drink, last night.
"Your great grandfather, and another Demi-God got into a fight. They battled for weeks. Then there was a huge blast of fire. When it had cleared, both beings were gone. Your father was beside himself with worry.
"The son of the other Demi-God blamed your father for his father's demise, and said he was going to purge the world of all the halfbreed mongrel Landkur's. It was just an excuse. He himself was a halfbreed, but since your father and grandfather had married human women, and not any of the older races, he declared all Landkurs unfit to rule or live by reason of contamination.
"So started the 'War of Purging', which lasted over 50 years. A lot of people and races went along with Salvadi Minturi. That is who started this and killed so many in the name of 'purity'," he paused, and got out a bottle of wine.
I passed on the wine. Alcoholic beverages right after breakfast, seemed a bit early to me. He poured himself a mug full, and gulped half of it.
"So the war raged. My father's home was destroyed, and our people had to flee. We lost all our lands. However, your father sent help to my father... the two Dragons. We have prospered out here. However, when we go back on occasion, we have to do it quietly. There is a sort of peace, but it is a brittle thing.
"Your mother and father died in the last few months of the war. Your sister holds your family lands and home. She was strong enough, and with the protection and help of the Dragons, she was able to hold onto what your family had accumulated over the generations.
"Others were not so fortunate. My father lost all he had, then he built this Keep. Others of our family died," he said as he looked sadly into his cup.
"Come!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. "We have much to do. We must get you proper clothing. You must choose colors and the device which shall be yours. We must also enter your name into the records we have, here. Messages must go out to your sister! You are the proper Duke de Landkur! " he said, with excitement in his voice.
So it was, that I found myself being fitted with clothing of a noble of this world. I looked at what was available, and chose a vibrant green color. Marald seemed to be smug, when I chose this color. I asked him why.
"Green symbolizes life and nature. Your Great, great, grandmother was the goddess of nature, and of all living things. While all of the true gods have withdrawn from the world, some of their spirits still linger. They communicate that way. Your grandmother's spirit is still upon this world," Marald said, as if he were talking about seeing a movie.
I found it disturbing for him to casually talk about Gods, Goddesses and Demi-Gods like this. I was from a world that had problems with religion. "Worship this God, or go to hell for eternity. Worship that God, or we will make a holy war against you, and kill random victims until you give us what we want. I shuddered. 'God' was not, to me, a physical being that manifested itself, and spoke to people as he was implying these Gods did.
The day passed, filled with more fittings. Meals were taken, where my identity was announced. I was being addressed as My Lord Duke, or, Your Grace. That was kind of disturbing, too. I was, all of a sudden, Nobility.
This was something else I had Markus to thank for. My not knowing this aspect of my life.
I told Marald I was going to have to go back to my other world, to settle some affairs. I could not concentrate solely on this world, until I had finished with the other. He immediately expressed concern, and offered to send guards as befitted my station.
Riiiight!!! I could just see me with about 10 or 20 men, armed with swords and bows, trying to clear people out of my way wherever I went.
I chuckled at that. I thanked him, but said I would be all right, as I had lived there for over 100 years without any guards. Somehow, I thought I would do as well without any guards, this time.
As the day drew to a close, the first of my new clothing was ready. They had done a very good job. I marveled at the speed of their work. It was all hand-stitched. How on earth had they managed this?
The pants and shirt fit well. There was a device over my right breast. It was of a Dragon. I was told that the boots would take a bit longer. I thanked them, and marveled at the Dragon on the breast. It was stitched with gold and silver thread, and was a representation of a Dragon, stooping. All four feet were bent, with talons at the ready. The wings were unfurled, and angled high. The talons were colored silver...
It looked like this Dragon was going to get whatever it was after.
The next morning dawned very chilly. But I was ready. It is not everyday one gets to commune with a Dragon. After breakfast, I went outside the gates of the Keep. I waited for my Dragon to arrive. I did not wear my new clothes, as they made me uncomfortable. I was wearing jeans, and a flannel shirt.
I had walked some distance away from the Keep, when I spotted the Dragon circling down. It landed a few hundred feet from me, and watched me as I approached. It bowed its great head down once, in acknowledgment of my presence, when I arrived.
"Greetings, Lord," said the Dragon with a hiss.
"Hello again, Bel," I replied, as calmly as I could.
Still, my heart was racing as fast as I had ever felt it!
"Come. Let us walk a bit away from this place. What we say and do, must be said and done in private," Bel hissed.
"What must be done?" I asked, suddenly a bit apprehensive.
"Nothing that will harm you," Bel replied with the draconishly hissing laugh that I was beginning to recognize.
Shortly we were out of view of the Keep and the people who had been working in the fields. We were in a little natural bowl surrounded by trees of a sort I was not familiar with.
"Good. This place will do nicely. Here you will learn what it means to be a 'Dragon Lord'!" Bel hissed to me.
"When the Dragon race was young, we were wild, and willfully destructive. The great Creator of All, made a decision. It was a decision that changed us forever. He created an ability within certain people, that gave them control over all Dragons.
"Your family is descended from the only remaining peoples who had, or have, this ability. Your sister has it still, to this day, as do you. Only you are not conversant as to what it means.
"Your father and your sister have only to think at us, and we will obey. It is inscribed in our very being to obey such as you. We actually crave being with you. If we disobey, it means death or madness. It is literally impossible for us to disobey. That, too, was ordered by The Creator.
"It also gives you abilities and insights you might not have at this time. I am going to open these abilities, and insights for you," Bel said and took a deep breath.
His great mouth opened, and his Dragon's Fire roared out at me. I was caught flat-footed! I inhaled to scream, and found myself with a lungful of Dragon Fire. I felt very warm. I closed my eyes, and threw up my arms to cover my face, but it was already to late.
Silence. I cautiously lowered my arms, and opened my eyes. I looked down. My clothes had been burned off of me, but I was unharmed by the fire! I looked at the Dragon before me. It chuckled its draconic chuckle at me.
I could feel things happening to me. I could feel adjustments being made within my body. It made me feel uncomfortable, but did not really hurt me. My mind seemed to be buzzing, as though I was on an acid trip of some kind.
I 'SAW' the world as I had never seen it before. A wave of dizziness swept over me. I stumbled, and fell to all fours. The earth chose that moment to start rocking, and I became nauseated. The swirling colors threatened to overwhelm me.
Slowly, my stomach settled. My vision settled, and I was viewing the world as if through 'new eyes'. I looked around in wonder. The trees gave off a definite green glow. The rocks gave off a dull gray glow. Everything glowed with colors. Some were bright and vibrant, others were dull and solid.
I looked at Bel. He glowed with a strong golden color, slightly tinged with green. I looked at my arms. They too glowed, as did my legs, feet, and anything of me I could see. I glowed with a darker green than the trees, but with still a vibrant color. I also felt a connection I had not before.
I stood, and took it all in, with wonder. I could see lattices of power everywhere I looked. I did not have to try to use my 'second sight'. This was different, yet seemed similar to 'second sight'. The difference was that I saw this all the time, now. This would take some getting used to.
My mind stopped buzzing. I swear I was hearing and thinking with a clarity that had not been there, before.
It was as if I had been wrapped in cotton, or muffled, in some way. I was now unmuffled! I could feel my connections to everything around me. Hell, I could still feel connections being made! I didn't even know what most of them were, but I felt... Wonderful! Fully Alive!
I came back to myself hearing Bel chuckling in the way that Dragons do. I looked at him.
"So now you begin to understand what you are. Yet, you have only barely scratched the surface. This is enough, for now. It will take you some time to get used to how you are feeling, and what you are seeing. Come to me when you are ready to begin your serious training. I have much to teach you," he said.
He bowed, turned, and walked out of the little bowl shaped valley.
I followed him, and watched as he took off. He flew away to the southwest. I was now standing, naked as the day I was born, and still feeling the wonder that a newborn must feel when it is first brought into the world.
I shrugged that thought away, and concentrated on teleporting my backpack to me. I needed some clothing to wear. After I was dressed, it occurred to me that I could simply have teleported to my rooms in the Keep! I sighed, and decided to walk back, as I needed the time to think and clear my head, anyway.
As I walked back, I gently touched the connections with my mind, and I immediately knew what each connection was and what it did. It was totally unbelievable what I could now do.
Until this morning, I had thought I knew magic. I had thought I was powerful. But with the abilities that Bel had just opened up for me, I knew I had been as a babe. I touched a line of power. I felt refreshed, as power flowed into me, 'till I felt like I would burst with the overflow!
Another new connection told me the state of the land for miles around me. I could envision every gully, hill, and ripple in the land. Still another line, or connection, told me about the rocks deep underground.
They radiated from me like a spider's web cast into the world. I was at the hub of this new web. I had but to touch a strand of my web, and I knew instantly what was its pupose. Form others, I could drink in power, as if springwater. I smiled at the memory of my staff, which I now knew to be just a crutch, as were my ring, and watch.
I finally got back to the Keep. I asked the first servant I saw to inform Marald that I would be leaving. I needed to return to my world for a few days or weeks. I had several duties I had to perform there. Then I could come back, and devote my time to this place, as it deserved.
I went to my room, and packed my few items that were not already in my backpack. I left the room. I was intercepted by Marald himself. He paused when he saw me. I could tell he knew something had happened.
"So, you are leaving us? When will you be back?" he asked me a bit hesitantly.
"I'm not sure. I really need to settle a lot of my affairs and put some things into order if I am to come back here for any length of time," I replied.
"Are you sure you don't want a guard? No, I can see you won't need one. I can see the change that has been wrought in you," he said, a bit awed.
"It does take a bit of getting used to," I said wryly.
"What will you do when you come back?" He asked.
"I have a sister. I want to meet her, and tell her of myself and of my life. I want to help her, if she will allow it," I said firmly.
"You will always have a place at Marald Keep," he said, then clasped my hand.
"Thank you, my friend," I said.
I released his grip, and teleported myself to the gate I had made. It was still there, and was still functional. I could also see many more connections. Patterns were present, within the pattern I had made. I had not noticed them before. Damn, I had been all but blind! How could I have lived, without being able to see this?
This Chapter edited by TeNderLoin